Downpour
by lejardine
Summary: Charles Dance runs into Meronym (Just so you know Meronym is my creation. She isn't from anything).


Meronym dressed in a comfortable red t-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans with a pair of black sneakers. She knew it was going to rain so she traveled simply. She put her money, debit card and cash, in her back pocket (it had a buttoned flap), her phone in another pocket, and left the other pocket open for her keys. She picked up her umbrella and headed out for the day free to do whatever she wanted. She'd had assignments back to back, all of which required her to do a lot of traveling so it was nice to take a break for a few weeks to do as she wanted. Meronym walked down the street observing her surroundings. It had obviously just rained since everything was wet but the sun was poking through the clouds. It was a late spring day so it was warm out but not uncomfortably humid.

She went to a few local stores she liked to browse in the Village. She did find something's she wanted but decided to get them on another day when there wasn't a risk of her purchases getting drenched. She continued on until she felt a few drops on her face. She quickly put up her umbrella and walked down the streets further. It was a quiet Sunday. The rain progressively got worse until the wind picked up. The wind made easy work of her umbrella and she was sent running for cover. She knew which stores would not allow her to step foot in to just simply get out of the rain so she ran until she found a little café. At this point it seemed to be a good idea. Though it was warm out the rain coming down was chilling her to the bone. She stepped through the door and stood there for a few seconds observing the fact that she was thoroughly soaked through.

Meronym looked up and made eye contact with the only person working. There were two other customers; one sitting and reading a paper while the other turned his head to look at Meronym. She couldn't make out any of their faces since her glasses were now wet and foggy.

"I'm sorry, I'll go." She said. She thought the barista would kick her out.

"Oh no, come in and dry off. The bathroom is in the back." He said with a smile as he pointed to the back of the café.

"Thank you." Meronym quickly walked to the back and entered the ladies room. One of the men in the café looked her up and down. From what he saw she was very attractive. She was tall, taller than most women but still shorter than him. She had long legs and an hourglass shape. She wasn't thin though, which he liked very much. She had that perfect amount of meat on her bones that drives men wild. Her skin was a lovely shade of chocolate and her eyes were honey brown with black liminal rings. Her hair was cut short but gave off the bed head look while wet. He noticed the red t-shirt that clung to her body and overemphasized her large breasts and the skinny jeans that clung to her body and hugged her rear end perfectly. He turned his head and slyly watched as Meronym disappeared in to the ladies room.

She stood in front of the mirror as she pulled a few paper towels and patted herself dry and cleaned her glasses. Her shirt was soaked through to the point where you could see her black and grey bra underneath. She removed her shirt and squeezed out as much water as possible then placed it under the high-powered hand dryer. It was one of the ones with the twin blades of air. Perfect for drying shirts. Her shirt wasn't completely dry when she was done but it was better than it was. Meronym put back on her shirt and inspected her jeans. The legs were wet but miraculously her butt and the front of her jeans were not soaked through.

She stepped out and sat on one of the stools to wait out the storm and to get something warm.

"What would you like?" Asked the barista jovially. Meronym looked up at the menu and mulled over what she wanted.

"Can I have a black tea and the shio ramen with beef and dumplings please." The man nodded and passed the order to the kitchen and proceeded to make her tea.

"Are you still cold?" came a rich calm voice. Meronym turned to the man.

"Yes I am a little chilly but at least I'm not shivering anymore." She answered with a smile. The man looked familiar but she wasn't sure. "Meronym." She said as she extended her hand.

"Charles." He answered. She then noticed his bulk. He wasn't fat, no; his bulk came from his build. He was tall and broad. His hair was grey and blonde and was a little thin his eyes were blue and he was clean-shaven. He seemed nice enough. "What were you doing today in this rain without an umbrella?"

"I was just exploring on my time off but I did have an umbrella. The wind made quick work of it though." She said half smiling. Charles' eye instantly went to her lips. She wore a red tint to her lips that seemed to make them more kissable. He watche bead of water threatened to run down her face. Quickly he grabbed a spare napkin and dabbed at the wet spot. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her.

"Your time off?"

"I'm a photographer and I just had back to back assignments, so I am taking some well deserved time off."

"Oh, where do you work?"

"Who ever wants me really, I'm mostly freelancing. But, I do assignments for Rolling Stone, National Geographic, New York Times and others."

"Do you love what you do?"

"I do love what I do. There are times when it's hard doing an assignment," Meronym looked away and down. "But then there are mostly days when I'm just on the ball and it wonderful. Definitely beats working in an office." She finished with a smile. Charles wondered at her reaction midway through her answer.

"Do you do photojournalism?" he asked on a hunch.

"Yes." A simple one word answered quietly and somewhat sharply told him all he needed as her black tea was placed in front of her. She turned towards the barista and smiled a thank you as he disappeared. Charles watched as she picked up the mug and blew quietly on the brew before taking a sip of the tea. He noted that she added nothing to it.

"A purist I see." He said with a smile. Meronym put down the mug.

"I don't add anything to tea unless it tastes absolutely horrible."

"Is there a tea that you need to add anything to every time you drink it?"

"Yes, cerasee. It's the worst tea I have ever drank but my mother made me drink it when I was a teenager in an effort to help clear up my skin." She said with a disgusted look on her face. Charles laughed at her reaction.

"What's cerasee?"

"It's a fruit that is called bitter melon and is found in the tropics. Its got many medicinal uses, one of which is clearing up acne. But it tastes horrible."

"Hence the bitter melon name."

"Bitter doesn't begin to describe it." She said. In that moment she nearly tasted it in her mouth and quickly took another sip of her black tea. Her food finally came and the talked in between bites and silent slurps of her ramen. By the time Meronym was finished it had stopped raining and her and Charles switched seats to one of the tables to talk more comfortably facing each other. Her bowl was taken away as well as both their mugs. They talked a while but Charles sat and took her in. she was beautiful, intelligent, well traveled and well mannered. It wasn't often that he stumbled upon a woman that had all of those qualities.

"What are you doing for the rest of the day?" he asked. The question caught her off guard.

"Umm, nothing really." She was beside herself. This man was seemingly asking her out. "Why do you ask?"

"Want to go for a walk with me?" he asked again. He waited for her answer. Charles felt odd, he felt like a teenager asking a girl out instead of a grown man asking a woman out. Though, the woman in question was obviously younger than him physically, mentally and emotionally, she was an old soul.

"I would love to." Her answer and her smile afterwards instantly relaxed him. To her protests he paid for the both of them and they left the café while the sun was peaking through the clouds. They walked for a while peaking though the windows of some of the shops. They reveled in the quiet of the streets. It was approaching evening and the sky was turning a dark grey.

"I think it's going to rain again." Whispered Meronym. Charles agreed but they walked on. Without warning, not even a slight drizzle, the sky opened up and they were both soaked through. Charles took her hand and they jogged to his home. It turned out to be only a block away. They stepped through the door and stood there and laughed at themselves.

"Take off your shoes and follow me." Meronym did just that. Charles took her to a guest room. "I will bring you dry clothes and change in here. The bathroom is through that door." he said as he pointed to a door close to the windows. He disappeared and reappeared five minutes later with a tank top and what looked like pajama pants. He shut the door behind him and Meronym instantly peeled off her wet clothes and underwear and put on the dry clothing. The pajama pants had to be rolled up once around the waist and the tank had to be tied into a knot in the back so it would fit properly. She towel dried her hair and walked out of the room with her wet clothes in her arms. "Here, I'll take those and through them in the washing machine and dryer for you."

"Thank you." Charles smiled at her thanks and directed her to the living room to get comfortable. He quickly made it to the laundry room and through their things in the washing machine and turned it to the appropriate settings. He stood there a moment though to gather himself. The tank he gave her was his but he was surprised at how it fit her…and at how almost see through it was. Through the white top he could see how perky her breasts were and how hard her nipples were. Charles then walked out of the room and in to the kitchen and put on the kettle for tea.

"I put water to boil for tea if you want."

"Oh, okay. What kind of tea do you have?"

"Darjeeling mostly. Which is why I was at the café." He half smiled.

"Darjeeling is good." Charles smiled and sat down next to Meronym on the sofa. He could tell she was cold and took the throw across the top and wrapped it around her along with wrapping his arms around her. He rubbed her arms gently. That quickly changed in to a hug, which brought their bodies closer. Meronym seemed not to mind the closeness.

"Do you have anyone?" whispered Charles.

"No…do you?" she asked

"No." Meronym nuzzled his jaw and kissed his cheek. He moved his head and kissed her lips. He was gentle with her and she liked that. He was not rough or demanding with his kiss. They continued to kiss as they melted on to the sofa. Meronym ended up on top straddling his legs. He still had his arms wrapped around her but her hands were on his cheeks. Her glasses her off on the side table.

Then the kettle began to whistle. She sat up never breaking eye contact and stood on the sofa so he could get up and to the kettle. She marveled at his graceful and lanky movements. He disappeared in to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with their mugs of tea. They sat there a while in comfortable silence drinking their tea. Charles finished his first and placed his mug on the coffee table and waited for Meronym to finish.

When she finished she did the same with her mug but she stood up and sat on his lap straddling his thighs. His hands went to her hips and pulled her closer as she wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him. She loved the feel of his chest against her. She could feel the strength. Charles then wrapped his arms around Meronym and they lay on the sofa, Charles on top. They kissed for a while longer before they pulled away to catch their breaths. Meronym observed his face. It was then that it finally hit her. Charles watched as her eyes went from wide to knowing.

"What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nothing, I just realized why I found you familiar. Charles Dance." She said lightly with a smile.

"I take it that you don't care."

"No, I don't but."

"But what?"

"But I've been attracted since before today." She said in a low voice. Charles smiled at that and pounced on her and continued to kiss her.

"Well then, lets continue." He said with a sly grin, and they did just that.


End file.
